Articles on Healthcare

Health care fraud and abuse cases are often won or lost on the effective use of expert witnesses. As health care fraud cases have become more complex and technical, the scope and use of expert testimony has proliferated, and the successful use of experts is one of the lawyer's most important jobs. False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback Statute, and Stark Law cases all demand various types of experts to assist the trier of fact in understanding the nature of the case, the morass of rules at play, the evidence, and a variety of billing, valuation, contractual, technical, and compliance concepts. Increasingly, expert reports and testimony play a pivotal role in motions for summary judgment, as well as at trial. Experts also are used in "conference room litigation," such as mediations or negotiations between defense counsel and enforcement agencies. This article is the result of interviews with health care fraud litigators and expert witnesses in the field who identified their best practices to produce optimum outcomes for their clients.

Population health is not possible in a discounted fee-for-service world, and the significant healthcare business challenge is how to transition from fee-for-service to risk-based capitation in a sustainable way. The following represents an outline for how this transition can be staged so that early steps exploit the benefits of fee-for-service while the latter ones exploit a more capitated model:

Not too long ago, I had the sad task of testifying at a civil litigation and a judicial hearing for two physicians who had been suspended from their respective medical staffs. In both cases, the suspensions and resultant procedural rights were avoidable because proactive communication and management did not effectively take place. Such events should be rare and most medical staffs can easily avoid them by focusing on preventive actions and addressing potential performance issues early in a supportive and assertive manner.

Regulatory hurdles prevent more hospitals from using e-health to its full potential. Federal and state policies and regulations on care rendered via technology from a remote site spin a tangled web for providers either engaged in e-health or who want to be. A February 2014 article in Health Affairs found strong associations between state policies and hospitals' adoption of e-health, also known as tele-health or telemedicine.

Happy Spring! As we march into March and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day it is clear that despite the largely symbolic attempt on Jan. 19 by House Republicans to repeal ObamaCare, the President’s healthcare plan stands firmly as the law of the land—Public Law No: 111-148.

Happy Spring! As we start anew, it is time to revisit an aspect of operating and marketing your dialysis facility that is often overlooked: your website. Some units may be best served by more elaborate websites, while still others, simple ones.

Now that the effects of the bundle are (relatively speaking) more clear than they were a year ago, many LDOs and entrepreneurially minded nephrologists and investors feel much more comfortable in terms of either selling their present unit(s) or in purchasing/building new units.

The Goldhaber Warnings Report: The U.S. Supreme Court ruling (March 5, Levine vs. Wyeth) will have major implications for the pharmaceutical industry forcing them literally to review all of their warnings and safety instructions for content, clarity and conspicuousness

It started with Joe. My elderly neighbor had lost his wife and his only child lived in New Jersey. He was totally deaf. How could I not help? My children were then young, and we adopted Joe. How could I have known he would become my charge for over five years